Chip Long will be the new offensive coordinator at Notre Dame, sources told FootballScoop Friday. Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports first reported the news.
Long recently wrapped up his first season as the offensive coordinator at Memphis where, without the fanfare of last season, he actually improved the Tigers' offense without first-round quarterback Paxton Lynch. The Tigers' offense saw its yards per play average jump from 6.15 to 6.25 in Long's one season at the helm.
Prior to Memphis, Long spent four seasons working under Todd Graham and Mike Norvell at Arizona State, where he built up a reputation as one of the nation's best recruiters. Long previously served as tight ends coach at Illinois under Ron Zook and broke into coaching as a graduate assistant under Bobby Petrino at Arkansas.
“Chip Long is, without a doubt, one of the brightest young offensive minds in the country,” Norvell said upon Long's hiring at Memphis.
Long will inherit an offense in full transition mode. The Irish are losing quarterbacks DeShone Kizer to the NFL Draft and Malik Zaire to transfer after a season in which Notre Dame shed nearly a full yard from its yard per play average -- from 7.02 in 2015's Fiesta Bowl run to a 6.07 average in a 4-8 '16 campaign.
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